XM307 ACSW
The XM307 Advanced Crew Served Weapon (ACSW for short) was a developmental 25mm automatic grenade launcher with smart airburst capability. It was the result of the OCSW program. It was meant to replace the Mk 19 grenade launcher. Design Details The XM307 is a belt-fed weapon. It features a gas-operated differential recoil system that controls peak recoil to a degree that the weapon doesn't need heavy sandbags or large tripods to keep it steady. This recoil system means that the barrel and bolt group are allowed to recoil within the receiver casing together, against the recoil springs. When the weapon is cocked for the first shot, the bolt is locked open and the entire barrel/bolt group is carried rearwards and also locked there. When the trigger is pulled, both the barrel group and the bolt inside it are released, and the bolt loads the round and locks it in chamber while the barrel still moves forward; the firing pin is then released immediately, and the recoil from the discharge first has to arrest the forward movement of the barrel group, and then throws it backward with less force than it would in the traditional system with fixed barrel. The belt feed and bolt cycling are operated by conventional gas action. It has a cyclic rate of 250 to 260 rounds per minute. The weapon also features a computerized, full-solution fire control system developed by Raytheon. It features zoomable day and night vision channels that output the sight picture to the small display at the rear of the sight. The fire control system also features an integral laser rangefinder that allows for precise range measurement for automatic point of aim correction and programming of the air-bursting fuzes. The XM307 boasts ergonomically-designed spade grips with buttons for firing and for the fire control system. Additional buttons are placed on the fire control system. Made of lightweight materials and combined with the differential recoil system, the XM307 is able to be mounted onto small unmanned vehicles and aircraft. Another distinctive aspect of the weapon, is that it can be converted into the .50 caliber XM312 heavy machine gun with a small number of parts and unit-level work in under 2 minutes. This process also works the other way around. Ammunition The XM307 fires a 25×59mm caliber airburst grenade designed in collaboration by General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems and Kaman Dayron, Inc. Before a grenade is fired, the operator uses the weapon's fire control system to program the range at which it detonates. The airburst grenades make it possible to bypass walls protecting enemy combatants that would cause collateral damage if fired upon directly. Operators would not have to shoot through the wall, but rather over it or through an opening on the wall, to kill enemies behind the cover and leaving the structure intact. This ammunition is also used in one other weapon, the Barrett XM109 anti-materiel rifle. Variant(s) A Remotely Operated Variant (ROV for short) of the XM307 was planned for the Future Combat Systems vehicle project. It would have been vehicle-mounted, and remotely-controlled from within the vehicle. History In May 2004, the development phase was funded through FY 2007, with funding granted for the ROV variant in December 2005. In 2009, the project was canceled due to the prototypes' low cyclic rate and failure to meet the 40 pound goal weight of the system. References *Wikipedia article *General Dynamics fact sheet on the XM307 (Wayback Machine) *XM307 on modernfirearms.net Category:Grenade launchers Category:Prototypes